True Colors
by irishgirl9
Summary: *written for the secrets challenge on the Supernatural.tv forums* Sam finally sees Ruby's true colors. Contains spoilers for 4.16


**Disclaimer: **Anything you recognize belongs to the amazing Eric Kripke and the CW. The rest are figments of my imagination.

**A/N: **I wrote this story for the Secrets challenge on the Supernatural .tv forums. The prompt was to write a story where one character discovers a secret about another character.

* * *

Hanging up the phone, Ruby scowled to herself. She was hoping to meet up with Sam, but he said that he and his brother were taking a break for a couple of days.

Time, that was the one thing they didn't have. Lilith was breaking seals left and right. If Sam was going to defeat her, he needed to be out honing his powers. He was getting stronger, but was he strong enough to face Lilith yet? Would he be able to kill her? Ruby wasn't so sure about that. And, right now, Sam was wasting precious time. No doubt, Dean was forcing Sam to waste precious time. At least, that's what Ruby thought.

Walking out of the door, Ruby was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the man walking towards her until she bumped right into him. Recognition flashed across her face. "Carson. This is a surprise."

"Ruby, just the the demon I was looking for." The host that Carson was possessing stood about six feet tall and had a muscular build, with short brown hair and dark eyes. For some reason, he reminded Ruby of a mob enforcer.

"What do you want, Carson?"

"Alistair's missing."

"What does the disappearance of your boss have to do with me?"

"I think your pet may know where he is."

"Sam? I'm sure he doesn't. He's not exactly a fan of Alistair's."

"Gee, I wonder why."

"Look, I don't have time for this."

"Make time!" growled Carson. "See, I'm pretty sure that the angels are behind Alistair's disappearance and who do we know that run around with Angels? The Winchester brothers."

"Even if they did know, which I'm sure they don't know, they wouldn't tell me."

"Then you'll just have to make them tell you."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll tell your little pet about the information you passed along to me last spring."

Ruby's face paled upon hearing that. That couldn't happen. If it did, Ruby was as good as dead.

"Three days, Ruby, you have three days to find out where Alistair is. If you don't, I'll be having a little chat with Sam Winchester." And with that Carson was gone.

Three days, how in the world I am I going to get Alistair's location in three days? wondered Ruby. Sam doesn't even want to meet up with me. Well, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.

**SNSNSNSN**

Standing behind a tree, Ruby watched Sam through the window. He was bent over his laptop, in obvious research mode. Thankfully, he was alone as Ruby wasn't in the mood to deal with Dean right now. Ruby took a moment to mentally go over her plan one last time before she headed inside the diner.

"No fries, Sam? I'm disappointed," said Ruby as slid into the booth across from Sam.

"Ruby?" Sam look surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," said Ruby in her best sincere voice.

"I'm kinda busy." Sam gestured to his laptop and the papers he had spread across the table. Dean was going to be meeting him soon and his brother would not be happy to see Ruby sitting there.

"What happened to taking a break?"

"We were, but something came up." Wanting to take a break, Sam and Dean checked into a motel only to discover that the local supermarket was haunted. Dean was currently following up a lead while his brother did some research.

"What is it? Maybe I can help?"

"Ruby, what are you doing here and don't say checking up on me."

"Sam, I do want to make sure you okay. It couldn't have been easy to watch a friend die," said Ruby. "But you're right, I do have another reason for being here."

"What's that?"

"Alistair's disappeared."

Sam did his best to keep his reaction to a minimum. "What's it to you?"

"Well, some demons are kinda pissed that he's gone missing. So, if you know something, you need to tell me."

"Ruby, why would you need to know?"

"Because some serious stuff's gonna go down if Alistair stays missing and I don't want you caught in the middle."

Great, this is just great, thought Sam. Can't we catch a break, just once? Sam had no idea where the angels had taken Alistair. Even if he did, he wasn't sure he'd tell Ruby if she was going to tell other demons. "Ruby, I don't have a clue where Alistair is, honest."

Damn it! "What about Dean?"

"What about me?"

Neither Sam nor Ruby had noticed the elder Winchester come in the diner.

"Dean," squeaked Sam, trying not to look like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Cause he wasn't do anything wrong.

"Sammy, why didn't you tell me Ruby was going to be joining us?" More secrets, more damn secrets.

"She just showed up. I had no idea she was in town."

"Really?"

"Really," replied Sam. "She wants to know where Alistair is and I've already told her that we don't know where he is."

"Actually, Sam, you said you didn't know where Alistair is. You didn't say anything about Dean," said Ruby. "So Dean, where is he?'

"Why would you think I'd know where that bastard is?"

"Cause you hang with the angels and they're probably the ones behind his disappearance."

"You never said anything about the angels, Ruby," said Sam.

"I don't know where Alistair is," said Dean. "And for that matter I don't know where the angels are. They don't update me on their whereabouts. Besides, why do you even care?'

"Ruby says that some demons are pissed that Alistair's missing," said Sam.

"So? Why should we care that a bunch of demons have their panties in a twist?" asked Dean.

"Because, if they don't get Alistair back they're gonna cause trouble and humans, innocent humans, are gonna get caught in the middle."

Dean didn't like the idea of innocent people getting, hurt but what could he and Sam do. It's not like they could call Castiel up and ask him to hand over Alistair. However, right now they had something that required their attention. Plus, there was something off with Ruby's story, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Sammy and I are in the middle of a hunt. Innocent lives already at stake, so we can't help you with your little problem.

**SNSNSNSN**

"Dean, for the last time, I had no idea Ruby was gonna show up like that," said Sam.

The brothers were back at their motel and Dean had been grilling Sam about Ruby's appearance. Sam was swearing up a storm that he had no idea why Ruby showed up and he hoped Dean believed him because he was not in the mood to get into a fight.

"Okay, Sam, I believe you." Dean did believe his brother because with all the lying Sam had done lately Dean had gotten good a spotting when his brother was not being truthful. "Why does she care where Alistair is?"

"I don't know."

"How would she know other demons were pissed anyways? I thought she stopped getting their newsletter once she started helping the good guys."

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

"Sam, we're in the middle of a hunt."

"I know, Dean," said Sam. "But when the hunts over, I'm gonna find out what Ruby's up to."

"So you're not buying her story either?"

"Nope."

**SNSNSNSN  
**  
Two days and one salted and burned body later, Sam was standing outside of Ruby's motel room. He had seen her meet up with some guy in town, a guy who Sam was pretty sure was a demon, and he followed them back to her motel room. Was Ruby in cahoots with another demon or was she trying to stop the demons, who wanted Alistair, from doing something that would hurt innocent people?

Luckily for Sam, the window to Ruby's room was open and Sam crouched down to listen to the conversation going on in the room.

"I told you they wouldn't know where your boss is and they don't."

"Then I guess I'll be having a chat with Sam."

Me, what the hell does he want with me? wondered Sam.

"You can't."

"Ruby, I told that if you didn't find out where the angels stashed Alistair, I'd tell your little pet about what you shared with me last spring about Dean," said Carson. "I wonder how he'll react to the knowledge that you're the one that put Dean on Alistair's radar in the first place."

"He's not gonna react because he's not gonna know," said Ruby.

What the hell? Without even giving it a thought, Sam was up off the ground and bursting through the door.

"Sam?" cried Ruby.

"Well, well, if it isn't the man in question." Carson couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"What the hell is going on, Ruby?" growled Sam.

"This isn't what it looks like." Ruby couldn't keep the desperation out of her voice.

"Then why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"I told you that there were demons that wanted to know where Alistair is," said Ruby. "Well this is Carson and he's one of them."

"What does that have to do with Dean?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ruby feigning ignorance.

"Don't play dumb," said Sam. "I heard you talking. I heard Carson say you were the one that put Dean on Alistair's radar. Now, what the hell is he talking about?"

Before Ruby could say anything, Carson spoke up. "Last spring, I had the lucky chance to run into Ruby and she told me about this hunter she knew named Dean Winchester. She said he was gonna be ending up in the pit soon and that Alistair would enjoy breaking him. If it weren't for Ruby, Alistair probably never would have even met Dean in hell, what with there being so many souls arriving on a regular basis."

Suddenly, Sam felt sick to his stomach. Ruby, the demon he worked with, the demon he hunted with, was responsible for Dean's torture in hell. She was responsible for Dean being tortured on a daily basis for thirty years. Everything that happened to Dean, all came down to Ruby.

"For some strange reason, Ruby didn't even want you to know." Carson couldn't help, but sound smug as he felt the immense pain that was radiating off of Sam in waves. On top of it he got to stick to Ruby. "Oh looky, your little pet doesn't like the truth, Ruby."

"Shut up!" growled Ruby. This can't be happening. Carson was ruining everything.

"God, you should have seen the way Dean cried, sobbed really, day after day. Month after month. Year after year. Decade after decade." Carson smiled. This was what he lived for. Soul crushing pain gave him infinite joy.

"Sam, he's lying. He's a demon. That's what they do," cried Ruby.

"You're a demon too or has your time with humans made you forget that?" asked Carson.

Unable to take another moment with Carson, Sam started to raise his hand, but he stopped as quickly as he started. That's what Ruby would wanted him to do. She wanted him to use his powers. Spotting Ruby's knife on the bedside table, he grabbed it in a flash. Before Carson had a chance to react, Sam shoved the knife in his heart. With a flash of light, Carson dropped to the floor, the demon no longer existing.

"Sam, he was lying. You can't believe a word he said." Ruby was not above begging at this moment. She had to get Sam to believe her cause if he didn't, she was as good as dead. "Sam, please, believe me. You and me. We shared a connection. I was there for you."

Grabbing Ruby by the throat, Sam shoved against the wall, knife held at her throat. "Shut up!"

"Sam, you don't want to do this."

"You have no idea what I want to do!" Anger flashed hard and steady in Sam's eyes.

"Sam, after everything I've done for you how can you believe a word of what Carson said."

"I overheard you and Carson talking," said Sam. "You did it. You passed on information to Alistair so he'd torture Dean."

"Sam...."

"I'm so stupid. I should have known you were lying when you said you help save Dean from going to hell. I should have known something was up when you waited til the last possible second to tell me that I could defeat Lilith using my powers. Cause then it was too late to save Dean. Which is what you wanted all along. Why Ruby, why?"

"Sam, please let me go. You need me. You need me to help you defeat Lilith."

"Tell me why you did it?" growled Sam as he pushed the knife into Ruby's neck, not enough to kill, but enough to draw blood. "Tell Me!"

"He was standing in your way. Azazel gave you those powers for a reason. With Dean around you were never going to realize your full potential."

"And Alistair, what did he have to do with it?"

"I knew that even if Dean went to hell, you'd stop at nothing to get him back. You'd even try making a deal with any demon willing to bargain so I had to make sure no demon would want to. If Dean was marked as Alistair's, no demon in his right mind would make a deal with you."

"You bitch!"

"Sam, you need me to help you with your powers."

"I don't need anything from a filthy demon." And with that statement, Sam did something he should have done the moment he found out Ruby was a demon. He took the knife from her throat and thrust it straight through her heart. Another flash of light and she was gone for good.

Letting go of Ruby, Sam sank to his knees. Gut wrenching sobs escaping his lips. He was still lying on the floor sobbing when a frantic Dean burst into the room an hour later.

Dean dropped to his knees next to Sam. He couldn't help, but notice the two dead bodies on the floor. One of the them was Ruby's host and her knife was sticking out of her chest. "Sammy?"

Sam didn't respond.

Trying not to freak out at the sight of his brother shaking and sobbing, Dean gathered Sam into his arms. What the hell happened in here? "Sammy?"

Dean's voice finally penetrated the fog in Sam's brain and he clutched at his brother taking comfort in the safety of Dean arms.

Once Sam had stopped sobbing Dean spoke up. "Sam, what happened here?"

Sam remained mute; not sure how to tell Dean the truth. He could just lie to Dean, but he had done that too much lately and Dean deserved to know the truth even if he ended up hating Sam because of it.

Helping Sam up off the floor, Dean steered him over to one of the beds and took a seat on the bed across from Sam. "Sammy, please talk to me."

"I killed Ruby."

Dean resisted the urge to shout _it's about time_. "Sam, what happened? Who's the guy?"

"He was a demon named Carson."

Carson, why does that name sound familiar? wondered Dean.

"He worked for Alistair."

That's where Dean knew him from.

"He wanted to know where Alistair was and that's why Ruby came here."

"So, how did they end up dead?"

Knowing he had to tell truth, even if it cost him his brother, Sam took a deep breath and began. By the time he was finished, Sam couldn't bring himself to look in Dean''s eye, certain that he would see hatred there.

Dean couldn't believe everything he had just heard. Ruby was responsible for his torture at Alistair's hands. He almost wished she was still alive so he could kill her himself. God, what it must have done to Sam to find out the truth. He couldn't help, but notice his brother was not making eye contact with him. "Sam?"

"I'm sorry, Dean. I'm so sorry," cried Sam. "I didn't know. I didn't know what Ruby had done. You have to believe me."

"I believe Sam. I know you wouldn't have had anything to do with Ruby if you had known."

"You believe me?" After all the lies he had told lately, lies on Ruby's behalf, Sam was surprised that Dean actually believed him. He had given Dean so many reasons not to.

"I do," replied Dean. "Sammy, I know you. I know what's in your heart. You never would have worked with Ruby if you had known what she'd done."

"I'm so sorry," cried Sam sounding close to tears. "I'm so sorry."

"I know, Sammy." Even though this was veering into chick flick territory, Dean moved next to Sam and pulled his brother into his arms. "I know you're sorry and I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I left you with that demon in the first place."

Finally, with Ruby's true colors revealed, there were no more secrets between Sam and Dean. Now they could get back on the road to repairing their brotherly bond. The threat of outside influences gone for good.

_The End_

Thank you for reading! Reviews are always greatly appreciated! Please let me know what you think.


End file.
